Just picked up a Varia RCT715 Seat Post Mount. I will be making some adapters for it for specific bicycles.

I have already disassembled the mount and I have a few opinions about it. It is bulky, not just big, and its heavier than I expected. The other issue I have is that in my opinion the design was just phoned in by Garmin, They could have easily made it compatible with the old quarter-turn devices. The mounting attachment is significantly smaller that the quarter-turn. I hope they don't make this a standard mount for Varia devices going forward. Lastly the design is overly complicated with two separate angles with each of the included heavy rubber spacers. Since this seems to have been designed by someone just out of design school, personally I think it is one of the worst mounts Garmin has ever built, and my Garmin use dates back to the Edge 205/305 slide in mount. One plus is that this mount appears to be very secure, there is no chance a device will work itself loose as the device doesn't actually twist, the mount does.

Give me a couple of weeks to make sure I can reverse engineer it properly. So far it looks like a RCT715 owner will need to remove 2 screws located on the back side of the mount (closest to the seat post). The screws are M3 x 6 mm and use a T10 Torx bit to remove. The screws are small and easy to lose. I plan on having the RCT715 owner reuse the screws in the new mount. I will try to include a few pictures of the mount disassembled later this week or next.

Update: I have modeled an adapter to the disassembled RCT715 mount. I think in its current state I will likely only do mounts for the Shimano Pro Saddles and Specialized SWAT equipped saddles as well as the Trek under saddle integrated mount and the Bontrager Blendr mounting system. It is just big and bulky and the mounting holes are in an awkward spot to make it a clean model for all the different seat posts out there (unless I go back to the two bolt clamp design).

Update 2:
Got the adapter back from Shapeways and there is an issue with the angle. I believe I know why Garmin designed it this way, even if I think it is excessive. I also know that the two screw posts that hold it together are parallel to the face but I don't want to design a hunk of plastic that just makes it a simple adapter. More plastic, more cost, more weight. It has to be good looking too! (relatively speaking)

I have another sub-section being printed by Shapeways, will see how that works.

Anyone looking for a mount for the MY22 Specialized Allez Sprint, the SL7 varia mount fits and here is a picture to prove it.
https://i.imgur.com/0rQaB3j.jpg

I found this thread from google as I am trying to find a good option for mounting the RCT715 on my aeroad. Do you think it would be possible to make something custom or would it be too complicated?

My first test piece did not fit correctly. The second just shipped today to me from Shapeways. I will try my best to have solid mounting options by July 8th.

Gotcha, thank you for the reply! I look forward to hearing how the second piece goes. :)

Garmin RCT715 Mount Adapters
 

I now have a few mounts for the new Garmin Varia Camera, the RCT715. Because of the awkward size and angles of the mount for this new Garmin device, I am only offering a few mounts at the moment (all integrated saddle mounts). Please do not expect any seat post mounts at this particular time.

The three offerings are:

Specialized SWAT Garmin RCT715 Mount Adapter
Bontrager Blender RCT715 Mount Adapter
Trek Integrated Saddle Mount Varia RCT715 Adapter

Here are some guidelines on how to use the mount adapters:

1. Remove the two Torx (Star) screws from the back side of Garmin's supplied mount using a T9 Torx (Star) bit or T9 Torx (Star) driver. Save these screws as they will be reused. Do not lose them, they are small.
2. Separate the back from the front of the Garmin mount and set aside the rear portion, we no longer need this section of the mount.
3. Attach the new compatible adapter module onto the back side of the remaining section of the RCT715 mount and secure with the two screws you set aside earlier.
4. Attach the newly completed mount onto your saddle with two M-5 (5 mm) x 10 mm pan head socket screws or slide into place in the case of the Trek Integrated Seat Post Mount.
5. You can use this arrangement exactly like the original Garmin RCT715 mount.

I will try to add pictures in the future unless one of you guys do it before I do.

WheresWaldo .. have you ever considered a combined seatpost clamp / garmin mount? it would obviously need a little arm reaching up a bit for a device like the varia, and perhaps it would sit a tiny bit low, but it would be so clean! imagine that allez clamp flipped around, with the garmin mount projecting up from the closed/smooth side?

obviously it would have to be printed in aluminum or another metal, which is obviously expensive.

Too expensive, Almost anything 3D Printed in metal of any kind is cost prohibitive and should only be used in prototyping designs. There are much cheaper ways to accomplish the same thing. The issue with someone like myself doing this, is that the production is of insufficient quantities to have any savings that come with scale. Then on top of that you have bike manufacturers that believe their aero design profiles are better than everyone else's, so you have a different seat post clamp for almost every bike on the market. Longing for the days of old where all posts were round only helps a little as their are so many different sized round posts. Volumes need to be in orders of magnitude larger than anything I do, to make it a worthwhile venture. Even as a design exercise it is time spent that can never be recouped.

Just to give some example cost comparisons, if a nylon part costs $ X, a polished nylon part is usually $ 2X, an aluminum print of the same part is usually $ 5X - $ 8X, other metals costing more. I designed a computer case badge that was offered in 14K Gold, it turned out to be about 120X the cost of the same part in nylon plastic.

definitely not cost-effective. but a fun project for sure, assuming 3d printed aluminum would actually be strong enough for the task around the fastener and post. obviously it would be best to print it with the layers horizontal in "plan" around the post. do you think a 3d printed aluminum part that was thin enough to flex enough to clamp the post would also be strong enough?

Just my opinion is that I don't believe a part flexible enough to go around a seat post would be strong enough to hold everything in place.

BMC Teammachine
 

Hi Guys,

I have the BMC Teammachine, but unfortunately I am from Europe.. so ordering such a part in times like these is about hard and shipping expensive…

Does anybody have a file, he could share for a Garmin Varia Mount?

Doesn‘t need to be the latest and best. At least having the digital seatpost profile would help a lot and I could play around…

Thanks a lot
Paul

Going to play around a bit with a redesigned clamp to accommodate the new Varia RCT715. Don't actually know if it is going to work, but I have a few ideas. May have a lead on a cut off from a Pinarello Dogma F (non-number series).

Finally! http://shpws.me/TcWA
This is the Garmin Varia seat post mount for the Pinarello Dogma F (without the number). It took a while but it is finally available.

And, here is my first RCT715 Seat Post Mount Adapter, http://shpws.me/TcYx
It is specifically for the Pinarello Dogma F and provides a secure mount that is not the bulky rubber spacers and O-rings that Garmin provides in the box.

Here is an image of the RCT715 mounted on the Trek Integrated Saddle Light Mount
https://i.imgur.com/qcGA9bWl.jpg

RCT715 Specialized Seat Post Mount Adapter
 

Specialized SL7 Seat Post Mount Adapter for the Garmin Varia RCT715 is now available. It is the first of it's kind and currently the only aftermarket solid mounting option for the RCT715, http://shpws.me/TdNN

Two more RCT715 mount adapters
http://shpws.me/Te9T - Specialized Venge MY12-17 RCT715 Mount Adapter
http://shpws.me/Te2C - Specialized SL6 Varia RCT715 Mount Adapter

A very nice LOOK 795 owner sent me a small cut off from the bottom of their seat post I now have a Garmin RCT715 Adapter and Garmin Varia mount for this bicycle series. Based on MY22 and may fit others.
http://shpws.me/TevT - Look 795 RS MY22 Garmin RCT715 Mount Adapter
http://shpws.me/TevS - Look 795 RS MY22 Garmin Varia Mount
You guys and gals heard it here first.

https://www.shapeways.com/product/ER...in-varia-mount
https://www.shapeways.com/product/5N...-mount-adapter

Just because someone asked me nice, here is a saddle rail version of the RCT715 mount adapter, http://shpws.me/Texf

https://www.shapeways.com/product/G26BAFRN6/garmin-rct715-saddle-rail-mount-adapter

Threw this together for someone wanting to use a manufacturer supplied reflector mounting strap. It replaces the reflector with a Garmin Varia mount, http://shpws.me/TeIX

https://www.shapeways.com/product/SA7EWNEW3/varia-reflector-mount-adapter

Links aren't working for me. :foo:

Stuff to do around the house but, had some time to get this one done. Varia (not the RCT715) mount for the Factor OSTRO VAM MY22
http://shpws.me/Tf6x

https://www.shapeways.com/product/CFBATX7W7/factor-ostro-vam-my22-varia-mount

Hmm...:foo:

I will send an email to Shapeways support and report it. Their site is code is pretty crappy like something from the WEB 1.0 days. I added the direct URL to the last few posts.

The shortened links appear to work in Microsoft Edge. I tried clearing the cookies on my system and it changed nothing in Chrome.